Page 147 of Plug and Claim

His Two Loves

Nathaniel

Kira shifted, not partially, but completely, until a wolf that was more than just a wolf lay beside him.

His breathing stilled.

Her elegant fur was midnight black, its softness tickling his forearm which draped over her body. Her nose was damp and cool against his hand, and long curved fangs protruded from her delicate snout even with her jaw shut. She may have only been half vampire, but her teeth would have put any vampire’s to shame. What would they feel like on his neck? His body tingled. It was something he’d like to find out.

Kira murmured in her sleep, flicking the tips of her nine tails. They did not resemble the furry plumes of a nine tails wolf, but they were equally magnificent. Instead of fur, each tail resembled a whip: black and glossy like polished leather, thick and sinewy at the base, and tapering to sharp, fine points that mirrored her deadly claws, each one hidden amongst tufts of fur.

She was more beautiful than he could have imagined. He’d already known she was something special, a rarity in their world: half nine-tails wolf, half vampire.

Some people called them hybrids, but that term could describe the offspring of any wolf shifter and vampire—not that such children were common either. His father had outlawed marriage and reproduction between vampires and wolves, and had often told him that ‘it matters not how many wolves you fuck, provided it is meaningless’.

Except Nathaniel’s relationship with Kira was far from meaningless, and now that he’d met her, he couldn’t have walled off his heart if he’d tried. He remained perfectly still, hyperaware of every breath she took.

Kira was a true hybrid, a cross between royal lineages, with a vampire queen for a mother, and a pure blood wolf, a nine tails, for a father. She held more power than his own father, King Henrikk. It was why he’d been so hellbent on wiping out the royal wolf family and their children, and it was also why, after many years of reflection, Henrikk had suddenly become obsessed with finding such a wolf of his own.

Nathaniel noticed Kira’s muscles tensing, and his arms tightened around her. He swallowed his anger and forced his breathing to calm as he pushed thoughts of his father away and focused on her.

She was the most beautiful creature in the world.

Both of them were.

Because in her wolf form, there wasn’t just one of her. There were two, almost like twins, lying side by side. One slept sleepily on its back, just as she had in human form, with its paws tucked above her, her furry tummy exposed. It may have been her upside-down position, but her upper lips had rolled down in a smile, exposing the full impressive length of her fangs. The second wolf was curled up between him and Kira, its whip-like tails curled around itself protectively around all three of them the leathery texture smooth on his skin.

Two breathtakingly gorgeous wolves. It made him sad to think there should have been nine. One person, but with nine wolf selves when she transformed, each with an impressive set of tails. The rest of her wolf selves had been slain when they were cubs, all seven in quick succession, but two had gotten away, bundled up and rescued.

He knew. He remembered.

He was there.

As Nathaniel beheld Kira’s true form, he vowed to do all he could to become the person she needed him to be, even if they could never be together.

Even if she went back to hating me. Maybe, she’d never truly stopped.

But first, a painful truth. One she might not forgive.

Kira stirred, still half asleep as she leant past him, bypassing his lips to nuzzle the side of his neck.

The air left him. A kiss was a kiss, but for her to nuzzle him left him in awe. It was an intimate act for a wolf, a gesture of devotion usually reserved for husband and wife.

He was humbled. Not only had she felt comfortable enough around him, at least on a subconscious level, to transform into her natural form, but she’d honoured him with the affectionate caress of her face and muzzle against his.

His chest tightened. Oh, how little I deserve her.

Being careful not to wake her, he shut his eyes and nestled his face in her fur, inhaling deep and holding her close, wishing circumstances were different.

Even though he hadn’t done half the horrible things credited to him, in some ways, the secret he was keeping from Kira was worse than all of them combined.

Chapter 56

Sleeping with the Enemy

Kira

The dawn light awoke Kira, and she tensed as she realised where she was: in Nathaniel’s arms. It was warm and safe here, where she was content to stay for as long as he was. She peeked an eye open and felt momentarily confused to realise her head was resting on her paws—and for her other wolf, the paws suspended in the air in a relaxed, trusting posture.